Mechanical toy



" mac. 118 W23. 3,4?356) v H. A. OKEL I MECHANICAL TOY Filed June 16 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR flaw/WA. 0%8L.

Filed June 16 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Dec. l 1923.

titdilfifi STATES HARRY ALFRED OKEL, OF VJHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

MECHANICAL TOY.

Application filed June 16,

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY A. OKEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and useful Mechanical Toy, of which the following is a specification.

My invention primarily has for its purpose to provide a new and improved mechanical toy, of the weight or gravity operated type, and in which is included a rotative element to which the motive power is transmitted by a series of constantly fed balls that gravitate onto therota-tive mem her and serve to impart rotation to the said member around its fulcrum, and in which the rotary motion of the weight impelled element may be conveniently utilized for actuating other toys, in the nature of an a tomaton of a man sawing wood or turning a grind stone and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toy of the general character stated of a relatively economical construction, in which the action of the operating parts are very interesting and which offers great amusement to children.

Another and essential object of my invention is to provide a toy motor adapted for being kept in motion by weight balls that gravitate onto and apply a practically rapid movement to the rotative element, and in which the balls, held in a suitable overhead magazine, are successively released, one at a time, by the sweep of the forwardly swinging end of the rotative ele-' ment, as it approaches the weight balls carrying magazine to successively release the said balls, one at a time, and in such a manner that the ball that drops onto the down going end of the rotative element is carried forward with the moving element, until it reaches the lowermost point of travel of the said end of the impelled element, where the said weighted ball is discharged and gathered in such manner that the balls may be conveniently gathered and restored into the overhead magazine, it being understood the toy will be in operation so long as the weight balls are contained within the overhead magazine or trough.

Another feature of my invention is to provide, in a weigat driven motor toy, an improved means that constitutes a part of the rotative element, whereby the process of gathering the ball at the upper or im- 1921. Serial No. 478,091.

pelled end of the rotative element, and the discharging of a ball weight that effects the last forward propulsion of the said rotative element, is so timed and so effected, that the receiving and discharging ends of the rotative element are so timed that the Weight ball, which last impelled the rotative member, will reach a point of discharge from the lower end of the said member just in advance of the dropping of the next weight ball, that is caused to escape from the overhead magazine into the receiving or upper end in the said rotative element ;the infeed of the impelling ball and the discharge of the weight ball being such that the lowermost ball, as it drops from the rotative element, tends to impel the lower end of the said element toward its upward direction, and the weight of the ball that drops from the trough immediately acts, inits passage from the magazine, to engage the upper end of the rotative member and in such manner that it forces the said member in position for positively catching the dropped ball into the pocket provided therefor on the said upper end of the rotative member. In its more subordinate features, my invention seeks to provide, in a toy of the kind stated, a receiving chamber on the base of the toy into which the weight balls, as they are discharged from the lower end of the rotative element, assume a regular position, one behind the other, and thereby avoid danger of becoming clogged in such chamber and interfering with a proper and perfect discharge of the balls, as they come, successively into position for being dropped from the lower end of the rotative element. With other minor objects in view that will hereinafter be apparent, my invention consists of a weight impelled toy motor that embodies the peculiar combination of parts which will be fully stated in the following detailed description, specifically pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my toy motor, the magazine or overhead trough being shown supplied with the impelling weight balls, the rotative member indicated as rotating in the direction of the arrows on Fig. 2, the impelling or weight ball being shown approaching its lowermost position for being discharged from the said rotative or pivoted element.

Figure 2 is a diagrammaticvertical section the vertical post on which the weight balls are mounted, the rotative ele ment or pivoted lever being shown with its upper end in position for receiving a ball weight from the magazine, the catch device in which the outermost one of the balls is supported, being in position to be tripped by and caught on the upper end of the lever, and the weight ball at the lower end as dropping from the lever being also shown.

Figure 3 is a. detail vertical cross section taken through the ball outlet ot the magazine trough, the spring closed ball supporting detent and the detent tripper devices, being also shown.

Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of the base or he toy, the standardmembers of the frame being shown in horizontal section, the shape of the discharge-weightballs-collecting chamber way to such chamber being shown in detail.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of: the yoke shaped detent hereinafter specifically referred to.

Figure 6is a diagram of a suppleu'icntal toy, in the nature of an air compressor or pump, operable by the power created by my weight motor toy.

In the practical development of my toy, the body portion or frame thereof, to provide tor the economical production of such is of sheet metal, stamped or otherwise and which, in practice, to make a pleasing effect to the eye, is painted or enamelled in loud colors. The body includes a base or'plattorm 1 from which rises a post 2 located near one corner of said base and in advance o'l two oppositely disposed. standshaped up,

7 ards 3-3 which constitute the bearings for a main shaft 4t, hereinafter termed the driven or power shaft, since from it' power inay be transmitted, through suitabl arranged gearings, for driving other toy lements, which maybe a pump or air compressor 5, as shown in Figure (3, or card-board or thin sheet metal automatons,tor example, a man sawing wood, or working a grind stone (not shown) and to which the necessary power may be transmitted from a small band pulley 6 on a countershaft 7 that is located in parallelism with the main or power shaft 4:.

The shaft 4 carries a driving gear 8 which meshes with a pinion 9 on an intermediate shaft 10 journaled in one of the standards 3 and in a supplemental standard 30, which also constitute the bearings for the shaft 7, as is clearly shown in Figure. 1.

It willbe noticed, by referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, the intermediate shaft 10, which carries the pinion 9, also has an attached gear wheel 11, that meshes with and transmits motion to a pinion on the counter-shaft 7 that carries the pulley (3 at one end and the inclined and whose other end extends beyond the adjacent standard 8, and has a bearing in a supplemental standard 12, which constitutes a housing for the supplemental toy, indicating a pump or air compressor 5, whose plunger 1% connects with a crank 15 on the end of the shaft 10, as is clearly understood from the detail view, Figure 6,

Shaft 10 at the end beyond the standard 3 carries a fly wheel 16, as shown.

17 designates a magazine or trough for the weights l8 (heavy balis) and the said trough is mounted on the upper end of the main post 2, its forward or discharging end being projected beyond the post and in vertical alignment with therotative element or lever in, presently again referred to, and to cause the magazine of weights to constantly roll toward the discharging end l8 the trough is sustained at a slight incline, as shown.

The delivery or projected end 18?, trough 17, has a bottom opening 17 through which the weight balls 18 are successively dropped, in a manner presently explained, and to hold the balls from dropping through the said opening until the desired iredetermined times, a yoke shaped detent 20 is pivotally hung in pendent apertures li -1T on the trough end. The detent 20 is termed by bending a spring wire to the shape best shown in Figure 5, by reference to which and to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen the said detent includes a long crank arm 21 that is normally held to abut a stop lug 22 on the adjacent portion of the post 2, to which post it is held under the tension of a coil spring. 23, that is secured at one end of the post 2, and is bent so its other end fiatwise the crank arm 21 of the load carrying detent 20 to hold it solidly against the stop 22, and with the detent portion 20 sustained in a ver ica'lly pendent position under the weight ball passage 17, in position for receiving and sustaining the outermost one of the series of ball weights to be dropped into engagement with a receiver or the end of the lever 24; secured rive with the shaft 4, which 'shai rough the transmission gearing transmits motion to the shaft 7 from which the acquired power may be transferred to impel other small toy objects as heretofore mentioned.

By referring to Eigures l and 2, it will be observed that lever arm 2&- is tulcrumed midway its length and it rotates in a plane at right angles to the several driven shafts and the trough in which the weight balls are held.

It will be noticed by referring to'Fig ures 2 and 3 of. the drawings, hat owing to the peculiar shape of the pocket 26 of the re ceiver 25,'as arm 24 swings forwardly in the direction indicated by the arrows on the drawing and it trips the spring detent or ball holder, in the manner presently further of the 7 1,&78,350

explained, as the ball carrying detent is forced from under the ball 18, the pocket 26 temporarily sustains the ball 18 released from the detent in such position that as the edge of the pocket 26 comes into the position shown in Figur= 2, the ball 18, as it drops into-the receiver imparts a forward impulse to the lever 24:, as hereinafter more fully explained.

By referring more particularly to Figure 2, it will be noticed that the fulcrum of the lever arm 24 is at such point, relatively to the post 2, that the last weight ball or impelling body carries the lever arm beyond the vertical or central line indicated by e, before the weight ball is discharged there from, and thereby brings the pocket at the other end of the said lever 24 in position to receive the next one of the series of weight balls contained in the trough or magazine 17.

It should be stated that as the upper end of the lever passes under the overhead trough, a tripper finger 27, of which there is one on each end of the lever 24, engages the crank portion 21 of the detent or load holder and rocks the said crank arm against the tension of the spring 23 and thereby swings the said load retainer from under the ball and releases the said ball, as shown in Figure 2, which ball, as it drops throiw'h the opening 17 is guided by a concaved pendent member 28 on the end of the trough 17.

Due to the relative positions of the weight receivers at the opposite ends of the lever 24: and the position of the weight ball which has swung the lever around and the next weight or solid ponderous body now in the act of dropping from the overhead trough, the ball at the bottom, due to its weight, as it engages the lower edge as of the pocket, tends to give a final impetus to the lever in the direction of the arrow 64 while the weight of the ball at the top, as it drops to seat in the upper pocket, by reason of its now resting on the upper edge 9 of the said upper pocket, tends to bring the upper end of the lever forward in the direction of the arrow 7), it being apparent that as soon as the up per weight ball is released by the passing upper end of the lever, it drops into the re ceiver, rolls toward the base of the pocket 26 and thereby imparts a relatively powerful forward impulse to the upper end of the lever and causes the lower end of said lever to swing up to the position shown in Figure 3 under sufiicient force to overcome the retarding tension of the spring 23 that is holding the crank portion 21 of the detent against the stop 22.

To collect the weight balls as they are dropped from the lower end of the rotating lever 2i, as the said end approaches the discharging point, as shown in Figure 2, a gathering chamber is formed on the top of the base 1 which communicates with a downwardly inclined trough 31 on which the discharged weights are received as they leave the lever.

The chamber 35 is out a somewhat elongated shape in plan view and includes a curved entrance wall 32 which merges with an outer straight wall 33 which in turn merges with a substantially semi-circular wall 34 that joins a forwardly extending inwardly curved end 3% that ends with the discharging end of the inclined trough 31 as is clearly shown in Figure l from which it will be seen that the walls of the chamber 35 are so shaped that the balls as they ride down the trough or runway 31 take the course shown by the arrows on the said ure 4, and thereby avoid danger of the balls rolling back and accumulating at or around the discharge end of the runway 31, such formation of the ball collecting chamber 35 tending to hold the balls in convenient position for being lifted out of the chamber 35 and liftin them into the overhead magazine troug 1.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings the complete construction, and the manner of operation of my weight motor will be readily apparent. It is obvious that since the weight balls are contained in the overhead trough they will constantly roll to the discharge opening 17 and be caught one at a time successively by the load holding detent until the pocket on the lever end passes under the trough and trips the load holding detent, as hereinafter stated. The toy will remain in operation as long as the weight balls are supplied to the trough 17. The operation of turning the pivoted lever is entirely automatic and as the driven shaft 4 rotates with the lever, power is transmitted through the gear device to the supplemental shaft 10, from which power can be taken in any well known way for running small figures or automatons.

Depositing the balls against the lever 24 and discharging the said balls after they have impelled the lever to the downmost point the movement acquired under the preponderous bodies at one end or the lever, imparts suflicient momentum to the up-going end of the lever, to overcome the tension of the spring 23 and the shifting of the load holding detent 20 at the proper times for a further rotative propulsion of the lever.

Changes in the detail arrangement and form of the parts shown and described may be made to adapt the toy for being operated by other weight bodies than balls, without departing from my inventon as comes within the scope of the appended claim.

l/Vhat I claim is In mechanical toy of the character described, a rotatable shaft, a lever arm attached to said shaft, a receiver on each of the opposite ends of said lever arm, a trip member carried oneach end of said arm, a Weight supplying trough having a discharge opening through which to deposit successive Weights into the arm carrying receivers as they pas's'under said opening, a detentcon sisting of a hinged loop mounted beneath said-opening and a lever portion adapted to he engaged by said trip memherat intervals,

and means tending normally to hold said 10 being arranged whereby the Weight 1'10r' I mally held in said opening will project into the t-roughabove the opening to form asto'p 15 for succeeding Weights until said Weighti 1 the opening is released.

HARRY ALFRED @KEL 

